DSST: Cedar Middle School

150 South Pearl Street

School District

Denver County 1
Grade

6-8
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:15
Type

charter

School Map for Denver County 1 School District

GreatSchools Rating

The school rating calculation is based on four ratings: the Student Progress Rating or Academic Progress Rating, College Readiness Rating, Equity Rating, and Test Score Rating each designed to show different facets of school success. Learn more about GreatSchools Ratings

Reviews

Submitted by parent on September 22, 2024

The social workers here are anti-family and influenced by Marxist-inspired critical theories. Do not trust the adults with your children.
Submitted by parent on August 04, 2024

One of the worst schools in Denver. Dysfunctional, disorganized, and not focused on education.
Submitted by parent on June 29, 2024

This was not my daughters first choice for 6th grade, but she had a great year. The teachers are very attentive and they make sure the kids stay on track. If a teacher thinks a student is falling behind, they will put them on mandatory tutoring, which I appreciate. It is more strict than most middle schools, but not anything crazy. They believe that from bell to bell, kids are there to learn. They are setting kids up for success by holding them accountable. This school isn’t for everyone but it was an awesome fit for my kid. She excelled and was actually excited to make good grades. If your kid does well with structure, then it will be a great fit. I love the diversity, acceptance and inclusion at this school. My child learned so much and she left 6th grade being a better human being. We had a great experience and looking forward to another year at Cedar in 7th grade! The teachers actually care. I felt like my child got a private school experience at a public school cost. Proud to have a child at Cedar!
Submitted by parent on September 04, 2023

My child is in 6th grade. She came home one day upset because one of the teachers wouldn’t let her go to the bathroom even though it was the end of the day. Apparently she was walking to the 6th grade while students were leaving. And the teacher yelled and wouldn’t let her go? This upset my child and now she is afraid to ask if she can go to the bathroom. They also put a lot of pressure on the kids.
Submitted by parent on June 19, 2023

This past year at DSST Byers was beyond disappointing. It was an absolute waste of a year. I wish I could rewind time to choose another middle school for my son. The first day my son told the teacher he needed to use the bathroom and he was told he couldn’t go! I emailed the teacher to ask why and never received a response. It only got worse. My son has an IEP which was not reviewed at all by his teachers or support team. I only found out after the IEP was violated many times. If you are the type of parent who believes recess should be used as a punishment then this is definitely the school for you! I strongly DO NOT recommend this school for students with special needs or ADHD. In addition to these situations, I had multiple instances where I received texts indicating my child was not at school and was unable to get a hold of anyone at the school to confirm. These texts tuned out to be false alarms, however, not one person answered the phone! Talk about scary and potentially dangerous. DSST Byers needs a huge wake up call and a revamp of many of their existing policies.
Submitted by student on January 17, 2023

At this school there is no safety at all and they try to cover every one of there flaws to outsiders and teachers that would make sure that the kids who go here cannot express there opinion on the school. In my experience of learning in this school they do not care about your education and more to what the teacher wants to do as they never accounted for kids that may need more time and no not make the students feel like they belong in this school making kids feel depressed and overwhelmed. They also pile a lot of homework on kids that almost always take 2+ hours or more and they do not leave good as they say "we make Kids ready for collage"
Submitted by other on October 04, 2022

It sucks. The school does a great job making it look great to parents and outsiders but as a student that graduated I know how it is. The teachers are just outright mean to students. Especially failing students. They make no real attempt to help them and they get yelled at all day long. The whole vibe of the school is depressing. They claim that being a "different" middle school is better for the students. But I would beg to differ because the entire school is just sad. The only thing that helped was being in a higher math class to help me get ahead in high school. If you really want to you can grind out academics for high school but at the price of your mental health. I didn't stay at dsst for high school either.
Submitted by parent on August 18, 2022

I believe that GreatSchools ratings have not caught up with the drastic changes at DSST: Byers MS in 2021-2022, which probably affected student achievement: uniforms dropped to t-shirts/athletic wear & didn't arrive until the 2nd month of school for most students - half the kids who'd been there the year before saw it as an opportunity to not mind the dress code that had previously served to discipline and equalize. Several new teachers joined in, and only 3 of 6 core classes were well managed fall 2021 7th grade. Former Byers middle school students who were now Byers High School students remarked how different the middle school was with behavioral issues, fights, rowdiness, etc. Although the first full year back from covid closures was tough nationwide, the kids raised by youtube seemed to be more pronounced here. Our student got beat up, twice, and we didn't even have our 1st IEP meeting until mid-October, when it should have been the first week of school - none of the teachers had a copy either. We transferred out at Thanksgiving break to a private school.
Submitted by parent on December 14, 2019

Feel so lucky to be there. It is a diverse school where our child has made terrific friends and grown both academically and emotionally. The high expectations have caused him to have higher expectations in himself. He will be completely prepared for high school. He was going to go to South but wants to stay at Byers, because HE feels he will get a great education there that will prepare him for college. Decision was up to him.
Submitted by parent on July 10, 2019

For our son, it’s been great. He likes structure and rules. He is thriving.It’s tough for 6th graders not to talk in and between classes. Developing social skills may be hard? This relaxes as they get closer to high school. My main pet peeve is reverse discrimination! The lottery system should be equal to all. If you’re white- 1 ticket vs 3 to all other races . If this school had the same policy but in reverse, do you think there would be screaming and law suits?? Make it fair to all races!
Submitted by parent on May 14, 2019

After 3 years, I would not do it again if i had it to do over. All this school has done is make my child not care about being in trouble because everything gets you in trouble. That kind of discipline structure just allows teachers to lean on punishment rather than figuring out other methods. If you want to prepare your kid for prison, send them here. Their discipline style creates angry, rebellious, and apathetic students if they are the type with opinions, and just shuttles the quiet ones through with good grades and does nothing to develop character or curiosity. It is a real shame, because they have some good teachers and good values with honoring diversity-- but anyone who is not status quo is turned into a bad kid or demoralized or both. They get gym once a week, and then sit through more paperwork and tests. They are not allowed to learn any normal socialization. This school ruined my kid's attitude towards school and education because it is all just lip service. Their test scores are high because they draw on an very affluent neighborhood. Check the test scores and discipline records of underprivileged kids and you will see some benefit sure from the resources they get, but overall they are not helping anyone succeed except the kids who would have already. You can't get any insight on how your kid is doing bc the teachers have no idea, the kids aren't allowed to speak -- they can snap to show approval but no talking or discussion because that would disrupt the rapid fire flow they run. I would be completely disgusted except the teachers are not doing a bad job as far as course content and effort, they are just overwhelmed. They need to keep most of the teachers and restructure their classroom management, it is a sick culture they are creating.
Submitted by parent on May 14, 2019

Terrible. Since the start of the school year, I have made multiple attempts to contact my child's homeroom advisor, social studies teacher, after-school club coordinator, DEAN OF STUDENTS, and others. The responses are few, if at all. My child has felt isolated this entire year. He has NEVER been in trouble at school; DSST: Byers has altered that trend. Discipline is dolled out for the most laughable infractions. Instances he has been disciplined for include: telling another student to stop talking, turning around in his seat, asking a question out of turn, taking a pencil someone placed in the hood of his jacket and dropping it on the floor, laughing in class, etc. Not one teacher has reached out to discuss his performance or behavior (based on the amount of discipline, I would be lead to think it is concerning)........apparently not.
Submitted by parent on April 11, 2019

Excellent! It is a hard and strict school. The first few months are an adjustment. Our son , though, has made tremendous growth compared to 5th grade. He has developed skills that will make high school so much easier. It is also diverse and exposed him to different cultures. Truly impressed and feel lucky to be there.
Submitted by parent on March 04, 2019

8.5 out of 10. Wish summer school was available for more students who need it.
Submitted by parent on August 06, 2018

Horrible experience in the middle school. Was hoping the high school would be better but we pulled her out after they wouldn't let her walk in continuation because she wore jeans instead of dress clothes which she didn't have at the time.
Submitted by parent on October 13, 2017

DSST is a school that has expectations for their students. We have seen tremendous growth not just academically but in whole character. Overall this school has an amazing program. Our kids have been challenged and had fun. It does have expectations such as homework and being engaged in the classroom. This is highly advertised in who they are. Watching my kids adapt to homework I have noticed adjustments in organizational behaviors (they support a highly organized self).
Submitted by parent on April 17, 2017

This school was a nightmare for my child and we left after a year. Even after the "honors" recognition and leadership council, my child felt like a failure. There is a lack of fun and zero social interaction. Homework is overbearing with over two hours per night. Teachers can't keep up with the load and want to help but don't. It's a horrible model for a school, sad that a lot of DPS funding is going to an organization that has only graduated 1,000 students to date due to their high rate of student attrition. Do not choice Byers or your student will be miserable.
Submitted by parent on April 11, 2017

This school is geared for two types of kid. The straight A student and the student from, perhaps, a troubled home. Both of these types of students will do fine in the strict environment, where there are dozens of small rules for seemingly everything. For the normal child, YOUR child, this place will be a nightmare. This is BY FAR the strictest school of all of the DSSTs and the least enjoyable. We have done one year of high school and are leaving. If you have a creative kid, a kid who wants to problem solve 'outside the box', who wants to express his/her personality, this is NOT the place for you. There is only one way to do things at this school, and that is the Byers' way.Please, for the happiness of your kid, please stay away.
Submitted by parent on March 14, 2017

My children are thriving in this school. So many call it "strict" and "rigorous". I think it is better described as "structured" and "stimulating". The structure in place at DSST:Byers creates consistent expectations and boundaries early on in middle school. For my kids, this created comfort and success. The stimulation provided engages students as active learners allowing them to achieve their full potential. I am 100% satisfied with DSST:Byers Middle School.
Submitted by parent on March 01, 2017

The teachers at this school are amazing. This is a fantastic school with great sports, top-notch education and a great community.